For Whom the Bell Tolls

"For Whom The Bell Tolls" has long been my favorite Ernest Hemingway novel. A compelling action adventure, this is a tale filled with mystery and suspense, peopled by a cast of extraordinarily vivid characters. It is also the author's finest, and most emotional love story. Although his use of language seems simple, it is deceptively so. Hemingway deals effectively with broad themes here - love, loyalty, trust, courage and honor are some. And of course, "For Whom The Bell Tolls," set against the brutal violence of the Spanish Civil War, is probably the definitive work of fiction about this pivotal period in European, and world history.Generalissimo Francisco Franco's fascist troops invaded Spain in July 1936 in order to overthrow the newly established Republic headed by the Popular Front, (composed of liberal democrats, socialists, anarchists, trade unionists, communists and secularists. (If I have left anyone out, I am sorry - this was a truly complex and unique political situation.)The country was basically divided into Red Spain - the Republicans, and Black Spain, represented by the landed elite, committed to a feudal system and Franco's cause, Fascists, the urban bourgeoisie, the Roman Catholic Church, and other conservative sectors. The number of casualties is only an estimate, but suggests that between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people were killed. Many of these deaths, however, were not the results of military battles, but the outcome of brutal mass executions perpetrated by both sides.During the war in Spain, 2,800 American volunteers took up arms to defend the Republican cause against Franco, who was aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Those who fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, from 1937 through 1938, believed the defense of the Republic represented the last hope of stopping the spread of international fascism. These Americans fought alongside approximately 35,000 anti-fascists from fifty-two countries. Most of the volunteers were not political, but idealists who were determined to "make Madrid the tomb of fascism." Hemingway's protagonist Robert Jordan, an American professor of Spanish from Missoula, Montana, was one such volunteer.Robert Jordan, an explosives expert, has been ordered to make contact with a small band of partisan fighters in the Guadarrama Mountains of fascist controlled southern Spain. His mission, of critical importance, is to blow up a bridge, at a specific time, to facilitate a simultaneous Republican attack on the city of Segovia. Most of the novel deals with Jordan's relationships with members of the guerilla fighters, including the girl Maria with whom he falls in love. Jordan is described as, "a young American of slight political development, but a great way with the Spaniards and a fine 'partizan' record." Neither a Communist nor a Marxist, he is anti-fascist. As is the case with most foreign fighters, he is under Communist discipline/direction, because, in the conduct of the war, they eventually run the "show" and provide the most effective opposition.Pablo is ostensibly the band's military leader. He has become disillusioned with the fight, cynical and bitter. He is no longer willing to die for any cause. A smart man, but brutal, and cunning in a mean way, he is a complex character. He does have a conscience. Pablo spends much of his time in an alcoholic stupor. When Robert Jordon enters the picture, Pablo's level of animosity reaches new heights, and his comrades, along with Robert, are afraid he will sabotage the mission. He undergoes several changes during the 3 days and 3 nights in which the story takes place.Pilar is Pablo's woman, an extremely strong and savvy person, she is steeped in gypsy lore and superstition, and is probably the novel's most colorful character. She is a fine warrior who can be counted upon to cover one's back in battle. Pilar possesses a big heart. She has cared for Maria and brought the girl back to health. When Robert Jordon joins them, Pilar takes the leadership position over from Pablo, whom she no longer trusts, but still loves. She commands the allegiance of the guerrilla fighters and organizes them into a temporary alliance with "El Sordo," another exceptional character. She is the force behind many of the novel's events - stimulating movement, motivating or manipulating people to take action - but for good purpose. Pilar, relates various war stories, and anecdotes, which reflect the cruelty and inhumanity of civil war.María's life was shattered by the outbreak of the war. Her father, the mayor, along with her mother, and many of the local citizenry were shot before her eyes by the invading Fascists. Since her mother was not a Republican, but a devout Catholic, she shouted, "Viva my husband, the town's mayor," before she died, rather than the more typical, "Viva La Republica!" Maria was then taken away and brutalized, physically and emotionally, by Franco's soldiers. When the guerilla band blew up the train on which Maria was a prisoner, they carried the dazed and broken girl to their mountain hideaway.A thrilling subplot is developed when Andrés, a guerilla, must take an urgent message across the lines to a Republican general. Roberto's entire mission, and much more importantly, the offensive, depends upon the successful and timely delivery of the dispatch. Another important character is old Anselmo, for whom Robert develops a strong attachment.A major portion of the novel is told through the thoughts of Robert Jordan, with flashbacks to meetings with Russians in Madrid, and some reflections on his father and grandfather. Jordon's inner monologues fascinate and clearly demonstrate Hemingway's skill with language and character development. Jordan, at one point comments to himself, that he is his own best companion. Because of his wartime responsibilities, he cannot allow himself to be overcome by emotion, which he considers a luxury. Whenever he feels anger, deep love, disappointment, foreboding, fear, anything that will distract him from his purpose, he talks himself down and refocuses. In such a relatively brief period, he begins to love life as never before, because of his feelings for Maria. Even here, however, he accepts that if anything happens to him, he is fortunate to have experienced a lifetime in three and a half days.Again, I cannot write enough in praise of Hemingway's use of language. It is sparse, direct, and extremely beautiful in its descriptiveness. He translated the Spanish intimate "tu" form into English. I speak Spanish, and although this may seem a bit awkward initially, it gives a much more accurate feel for the local idiom and the dialogue between Maria and Roberto, (as he is called), and between Roberto and the partisans.This is not only an extraordinary novel, but is one of the most important in American fiction. Hemingway worked as a correspondent in Spain during the Civil War, as a reporter for the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA). He raised money for the Republicans in their struggle against the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco.JANA

Okay, so Hemingway is a great writer who changed the literary style regarding writing about wars. Kudos to Hemingway for his contribution to literature. But this book was a fatiguing read for most members of our book club except for the really smart people. in fact, most of us had to 'cheat'--we watched the movie to make the book easier to follow. However, if you are a really smart person (like Dolores B. in our book club), you may appreciate the fact that there are supposedly many 'gems' of literature--jewels of sentences written in the English language--throughout this book. But this book was just too heavy for me. I had to skip over a lot of it.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is Ernest Hemingway's famous "Spanish Civil War" novel. It was written during an exciting, idealistic period of Hemingway's life when he was traveling back and forth to Spain to cover the Civil War, traveling around the United States to raise money for the Republican (Leftist/Marxist) cause in Spain, all the while carrying on an affair behind his wife's back with the iconic feminist journalist Martha Gellhorn. To Hemingway's credit, his idealism with the Republican cause was severely punctured by the Marxist incompetence, ideological brutality, and Soviet meddling that doomed the Republican cause from the start. In other words, when faced with the harsh realities on the ground, this die-hard liberal with a soft-heart for socialists realized that the "good guys" were, in fact, not all that good and possibly their own worst enemies.This cynical realism gave "For Whom the Bell Tolls" a good deal of its moral excellence as a novel.Robert Jordan is a thinly disguised version of Hemingway, a Midwest college professor and engineer with Republican sympathies. He comes to Spain to lend his skills in demolition and is tasked to blow a bridge in a mountainous region inhabited by pro-Republican guerrillas. The timing of the demo job is crucial to the success of a planned Republican offensive. And Jordan, the idealist, is determined to fulfill his obligations. He is brought to a remote location where he finds among the guerrillas a young woman named Maria with whom he starts a doomed romance (the doomed romance is a common and depressing feature of most Hemingway novels). We all know how this is going to end and you can accuse me of a spoiler alert for that, but all Hemingway novels share this bleak construct. There is an internal conflict within the plot due to the suspicious behavior of the guerrilla leader, Pablo, who everyone, including Pablo's wife, Pilar, suspects of being a traitor. Pilar eventually becomes the group's moral and actual leader, a plot device that was a nod to Marth Gellhorn but which seems woefully unrealistic as it plays out. Anyway... I won't add more without giving it all away..."For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a great novel, don't get me wrong. It sits alongside "The Sun Also Rises" and "A Farewell to Arms" as the trilogy of Hemingway's classic "Lost Generation" novels. I believe all three of these novels are superior to everything else Hemingway wrote fiction-wise (including that high school staple, "The Old Man and the Sea"). They sum up all Hemingway had to say about his materialistic, death-obsessed, hedonistic, liberal-world-view. Truth is that Hemingway's trilogy of classics is the same doomed-romance story told three different ways.Hemingway does give a good feel for life on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War... even if, in the end, it was still a largely idealized view. In fact, the guerrillas that Hemingway surrounds Robert Jordan with were often the most brutal and conflicted pawns in the Soviet side of the chess board that was the Spanish Civil War. They were known to piously genuflect and perform the sign of the cross before raiding churches to steal their gold and burn their altars. But the Nationalist side never stood a propagandist's chance in hell with telling their side of the story as long as they were receiving military aid from NAZI Germany and facing the likes of Ernest Hemingway across the public relations divide.Highly recommended for one man's view of the Spanish Civil War, for Hemingway fans who want to focus on his good stuff, and for those in search of the great American novel. But for that third point you may need to keep looking...

Hemingway’s brilliant novel of war. The author clearly has a deep familiarity and respect and admiration and affection for Spain and the Spanish culture (I wonder if this novel could have been written about in any other conflict?). This comes through during the three days we follow an American guerilla gathering resistance forces to destroy a bridge as part of the war against fascism. Interesting that Hemingway’s heroes are all Communists and Republicans, however the fascists are awarded equal sympathy, emphasizing the futility of war and the circular nature of human events and the interconnectedness that characterizes literally every single interaction between humans. “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee” because anything (especially war) that affects one human being will affect us all. These lessons are told in the context of a ripping story. There are places in the narrative where I found myself holding my breath. There is beauty and sadness in a doomed love affair too. And honor and betrayal and incompetence and cowardice and bravery and so many great examples of human action and reaction. I loved this book.

I am an avid reader who will generally slog through any book regardless, almost as a badge of honour and this was on my literary bucket list, so I was pretty keen to read it. Unfortunately, I have to report that "For Whom The Bell Tolls" defeated me and I abandoned it after about 120 pages of turgid prose describing not very much at all. If you are the type that likes an author describing every nuance and minute detail of a scene, then this may be for you, but for me it has the singular accolade of being one of the very few books I have ever given up on!

Aside from The Old Man and the Sea I haven't read any Hemmingway and thought I'd rectify that by reading this, which most posts tend to think is his greatest work. I enjoyed the beginning but then he starts rambling. I read that he likes writing short sentences, shame he likes writing so many of them. The Hemmingway cultists will hate me, but I gave up - it was just too boring and, to be frank, I lost interest in finding out more about any of the characters or what happened to them. Did he blow the bridge? I don't care. Did they escape? I don't care. No more Hemmingway for me, especially if that is as good as it gets.

One cannot help but be impressed by the way that Hemingway draws out his story, frustrating as it might at times become. The down-to-earth prose is rich, the protagonists vividly described, the descriptions of the massacre of the fascists and of bullfighting unforgettable. Hemingway’s frequent use of long sentences is remarkably effective. He oddly fixates on rope-soled shoes, and of course alcohol is present on every page. In order to avoid any trouble with censors the text is littered with words like ‘obscenity’ as a substitute for swearwords that would be common to such environments. Spanish phrases are magically blended with their English meanings. One really feels having read a masterpiece...

This is a novel which examines John Donne’s belief that humanity itself is diminished by the death of any and every individual, hence the allusion in the title: ‘Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee’.It is set in the Spanish Civil War and is a page turner as we follow the struggles and fates of a colourful set of varied individuals. Although we follow those on the Republican side of the conflict, we are encouraged to empathise with some of the Nationalists and none of the Republicans are faultless figures. All the characters are real and credible. The narrative shows the ripples set in motion by the actions of each and every individual, all impinging on how events turn out.The reason why I’ve taken off 1 star from this novel is nothing to do with the novel itself but the printing: it has clearly been photographed from a marked or creased original and this has led to quite a few typos, e.g. ‘a!!’ for ‘all’, etc.

How strange to be asked by Amazon to review this book! I’m no literary critic and this novel is regarded as a “modern classic” and a “must read” for literary students. Well, here goes.You either like Hemingway or you don’t. The plot is great and well thought out. His style is simple. His dialogue can be awkward and several pages of it could easily be skipped with no detriment to the read quality. This novel has the great benefit of being written by someone who actually participated in the Spanish Civil War so the authenticity is superb. Give it a go.